Aereo to Launch Service in Boston

23 Apr, 2013 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Aereo TV, the subscription service that enables users to stream broadcast television programming via mini antennae to portable devices, April 23 said it will launch service in Boston beginning May 15 to consumers who pre-register.

New York-based Aereo said it would make the service available to eligible users among 4.5 million residents in the greater Boston area on May 30.
Boston residents will be able to watch and record programing from 29 over-the-air broadcast channels, including Bloomberg TV and major network affiliates. Those networks, which have ongoing litigation against Aereo, received a setback earlier this month when an appeals court said the service does not infringe third-party content copyrights and could continue operating.

Aereo is currently supported on iPad, iPhone, Chrome, IE9, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Apple TV and Roku. No cable subscription is required to use Aereo and membership plans begin at $1 a day, $8 a month or $80 a year, and include a cloud-based DVR.

“This is an exciting step forward for the company,” Aereo founder and CEO Chet Kanojla said in a statement. “Today’s announcement is even more meaningful and special for our more than 60 employees who call the Boston area home, including me. I’m proud of our team and what we’ve accomplished in such a short period of time.”

Meanwhile, Dana McClintock, EVP of communications with CBS Corp., tweeted the media giant wouldn’t sit idly by as Aereo expands its reach.

“Stealing our signal will be found to be illegal in Boston, just as it will be everywhere else,” McClintock wrote. "Then again, if Aereo’s business is as successful in Boston as it’s been in N.Y., it has its own problems to deal with."

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